in Northern Ireland - Planning Service · Improving the Quality of Housing Layouts in Northern...

Improving the Qual i ty of Housing Layouts

in Northern Ire land

Improving the Quality of Housing Layouts in Northern Ireland

is sponsored by the Planning Service of the The report is based on discussions,

Department of the Environment, the Roads workshops and fieldwork with relevant

Service of the Department for Regional professionals in Northern Ireland. It also

Development, the Northern Ireland Housing draws on seminars and other work related

Executive, and the Construction Employers' to `Housing Layouts - Lifting the Quality'

Federation of Northern Ireland. The published by DETR in England in 1998.

recommendations in this report are

endorsed by all four sponsoring bodies.



A publication jointly by CEF, NIHE, Roads Service and Planning Service

Foreword

Since the introduction of the Quality Initiative to Northern Ireland, developers, urban designers, architects, landscape architects, planners and road engineers have collectively made considerable progress towards improving the quality of new residential environments. There is now common understanding that we need to adopt a more holistic design-led approach.

It is a challenging task to create from scratch a residential environment that will mature into a place that is distinctive, attractive, and safe. We have a good tradition of quality in the design and space provided within the new houses we build in Northern Ireland. But can the same always be said of the streets and places we create? How often have we heard people deplore the loss of woodland or other familiar features in the landscape which it is felt could have been retained? How often do we hear calls for the return of tree-lined avenues and play areas, and for some relief from the monotony of rows of same or similar houses?

To meet these criticisms, it is necessary from the very start of the process to have common purpose - the creation of quality places. Only when all professionals involved in this process are prepared to combine their various skills, in a spirit of co-operation and partnership, can we hope to create places future generations will cherish.

The production of this document is heartening evidence of the will to work together and strive for the highest possible standards in the external residential environments. We endorse fully its publication at what we believe to be an important stage in the process - just as new guidance for design professionals on this topic is being brought forward.

We are in a position to harness the imagination, vision, abilities and integrity of all involved in the development process. As we enter a new century, let us work positively towards creating sustainable quality environments that will contribute to a better life for all - now and in the future.


quality of the scheme is as important

as zoning when assessing

development proposals. The various

measures and advisory documents

produced since January 1996 are

components of what has become

known as the ‘Quality Initiative’. The

Quality Initiative is the basis of the

standards expected of new housing

schemes. It was made clear in

February 1999 that it applies to all

housing throughout Northern Ireland

including proposals for land that is

already zoned.

The Departments are pleased that

the Quality Initiative is supported by

the Construction Employers’

Federation and the Northern Ireland

Housing Executive.

PrefaceA few examples of the best in Northern Ireland’s housing, at Carnlough, Balmoral Avenue, Belfast, and Hillsborough.

Developers and designers have

endorsed the objectives of the

Quality Initiative.

It is their imagination and creativity

that can achieve significant

improvements in the housing

environment. Several of the

examples of housing in Northern

Ireland that are illustrated in this

document show that they do have

the ability to achieve better quality.

It is intended that this document

should stimulate everyone involved

in the development process to give

greater attention to design issues.

Together we can succeed in

improving the quality of the places

where people will live.

The Government’s policy is to

improve the quality of new housing

developments. Improving the quality

needs the help and cooperation of

everyone involved in creating new

residential environments. For their

part, the Department of the

Environment and the Department for

Regional Development are reviewing

their advice and guidance to assist

developers and designers.

This process began with a ministerial

announcement on 26 January 1996.

Everyone accepts the need for the

proper planning of growth through

the zoning of development land.

However, the announcement

established the principle that zoning

is only the first step and that the

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Creating new homes in attractive

surroundings is a most important

design task. The quality of our

home environment shapes our

attitude to life. For example, it is the

environment in which children spend

most of their free time. The home

and garden is the daily working

environment for around half of the

adult population.

The visual quality of new housing

developments also has an impact on

existing communities. It is important

to try to respect and enhance the

environment for existing residents,

as well as new ones.

The responsibility for creating new

housing environments is shared

between development companies,

their designers and public agencies,

especially the Planning Service and

the Roads Service. At present, too

many of the people involved in

housing design concentrate on their

own priorities and their personal area

of responsibility. This means that

housing layouts are often shaped by

many separate technical decisions,

without a clear vision of an overall

design concept. This does not

encourage anyone to seek an

equitable shared solution.

Public open space in a new development near Bishops Stortford, England, by Countryside Properties.

Good design comes from achieving a

balanced response to all of the factors

influencing a housing scheme. It is not

easy to design an attractive, varied

and safe housing environment. Nor is

it easy to design in a way that takes

account of the natural attributes and

constraints of the site, that draws on

the distinctive characteristics of its

landscape and townscape

surroundings, that appeals to

customers, and that makes profits

for developers and landowners at

the same time. If it was easy, such

developments would be commonplace

rather than rare exceptions.

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Introduction

The best new housing in Northern Ireland achieves high design standards, but the Quality Initiative encourages all new housing to match these excellent examples. From top left, clockwise: high quality design in Bushmills, Eglinton

In the past, dialogue between

developers and public authorities has

concentrated on the scale of housing

land allocation or attempts to resolve

problems on specific sites. This has

led to the perception that developers

and authorities are on opposing

sides, yet both are in agreement

about their desire to lift the quality of

housing layouts. There are some

differences in perceptions, and in the

detail of how that improved quality

might be delivered, but there is

fundamental agreement.

In Northern Ireland, as elsewhere,

there are many examples of poor

design where new housing estates

and Newcastle.

have had a detrimental impact on

their surroundings. There are only a

few developments of outstanding

quality. This cannot be the result of a

conscious decision to reject good

design. It is more likely that the

question of quality has never been

fully considered in a process that has

concentrated on cost saving and

satisfying technical requirements.

It remains a popular myth that good

design is inherently expensive, yet

some aspects of good design can be

achieved with little or no additional

costs. Varying the spaces in a layout

to create interest and contrasts can

be achieved without reducing density

or adding expense. High quality

planting will be only a small item in a

development budget but it has a

significant impact. A good designer

may even produce more cost

effective schemes.

Developers have put much effort into

providing their customers with well

built and efficient houses. Many are

now acknowledging that design

improvements to their layouts can

make their projects more acceptable

to the community and more

appealing to their customers. The

criticism of new housing layouts is

not just about taste and style.

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Urban redevelopment that takes the form of a street of houses bringing appropriate scale, detailing and quality to this visually important site in Londonderry.

It is that many developments have no

overall design concept, that they

are merely the cumulative effect of

meeting technical and functional

needs at costs within the

developer’s budget.

Typical housing estates are

criticised for their disregard of local

identity, ignoring the character of

nearby buildings and their

relationship with neighbouring

development. They often neglect

their impact on the wider landscape

and opportunities to make

environmental improvements are

often wasted.

Where new housing is on reclaimed

urban sites it will face many physical

and market constraints. In these

difficult situations, drawing design

ideas from local character will help

to mould the new housing into its

setting and enhance local

distinctiveness. Developers and

planners have a chance to

demonstrate that they can be

sufficiently imaginative to make the

most of these important

opportunities. Successful new urban

places have been enthusiastically

received by house buyers. The best

examples offer an encouraging

model for future projects.

Some new housing will be added

to villages and small country

towns. Traditional building types,

materials and settlement forms are

an important part of the special

character of Northern Ireland’s

rural areas. In Great Britain, there

are growing numbers of new

developments that respect their

context and meet the need for rural

housing without undermining the

local sense of place. All rural housing

schemes should seek to follow these

good examples, sustaining traditions

rather than bringing inappropriate

suburban layouts and house types

into rural locations.

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Traditional spaces have variety, such as avenues along main roads or a courtyard round a green. Tree-lined streets can mature into a charming suburban environment.

Many new housing layouts will be at

the suburban edge of settlements,

often related to recent housing

schemes in order to make effective

use of infrastructure investments.

The surrounding development may

be less significant for these designs,

but there is still the site form and

landscape to consider and other

design clues in the distinctive

features of the wider area. This

means that suburban housing in

Northern Ireland should look as if it

belongs here, and not appear to be a

transplant from the edges of London

or Birmingham.

Identity and distinctiveness are

achieved by making the most of the

site and its landscape and

townscape setting. This involves the

obvious, such as using natural

features in public spaces, especially

trees and other established planting,

and the less obvious such as using

some local building traditions, public

art or ensuring that a view is

retained. In some suburban cases,

existing local style may be an

important influence on the new

development. Sometimes, a bold

design might be a welcome contrast.

The most criticised designs are those

that introduce housing which could

be in any suburb. A well-designed

housing layout, especially on

suburban sites, should provide

variety and contrasts. The spaces

between the houses should not then

be mere standard streets and

culs-de-sac, but avenues, squares,

crescents, mews, courtyards, lanes,

alleys, greens, and all the other

words that our language offers to

describe the traditional variety

of spaces.

The creativity of roads engineers is

critical in achieving diverse spaces

that meet technical and safety

requirements without imposing

stereotyped solutions.

This search for variety should also

extend to boundary treatments

where walls, fences, railings and

hedges can be used to emphasise

the shape of spaces and introduce

neighbourhood identity. New planting

can strengthen these ideas, with

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Variety in house types and boundaries, using existing trees, and careful attention to the best characteristics of established housing in the area creates a place of quality that will quickly mature. (Castle Park, Omagh).

shrubs and trees helping to define

spaces and enclosure, and species

selection reinforcing local identity. All

of these measures help the legibility

of the housing environment, making

‘my place’ special and different.

Developers will need to use the best

urban design skills to ensure that

they take every opportunity to create

variety, contrasts and identity in their

design concepts or master-plans and

as detailed layouts are prepared.

The aim is to create more diversity in

the houses themselves. This can not

be achieved through the superficial

treatment of elevations, with applied

decoration or random changes of

colour and materials, but in the ways

that the houses relate to each other.

Standard house types are usually

designed to fit in straight rows on flat

sites. They do not easily turn corners,

enclose spaces or adapt to level

changes. This makes it difficult for

designers to make the best of a site.

More imaginative house types could

introduce greater variety. For

example, spaces could be fitted

together and enclosed with terraces

or outbuildings. Some house types

could even be detached in generous

gardens while others could be more

modest yet grouped together to

make a lively street scene.

Additionally, certain houses could be

tall to create a landmark while some

may be hidden away behind walls

and gates. Unrelieved use of a few

standard house types cannot achieve

the variety that is an essential aspect

of well designed housing. Developers

are cautious about the risks in using

many different house types but some

have shown that attractive and cost

effective schemes can be achieved

by using variants on standard

designs. Indeed some volume house

builders in Great Britain are now

turning away from their standard

pattern books.

Good detailing and materials are

important, but they will not turn bad

spaces into good ones. The way in

which the layout and massing of

development fits the site is the key

to good quality development.

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A well-mannered street of houses shows respect for tradition, and the houses achieve quality without high costs or superficial decoration. This sympathetic development is a sensitive contribution to Carnlough (Herbert Street) although it could have been improved with better detailing of boundaries and retaining walls.

Achieving sustainable development use of recycled materials. In cases informal play, as well as creating

is also part of good design. where development inevitably wildlife corridors and contributing to

Sustainability is an holistic concept, involves some habitat loss, this habitat conservation.

in which the benefits to be gained could be offset by providing greater

through development must be habitat improvements nearby. There Housing layouts in Northern Ireland

considered against potential is no standard solution or checklist. have not provided either the quantity

negative impacts. Each site will present its own or the quality of open space that is

opportunities. commonly seen in Great Britain or the

Sustainability requires designers to Republic of Ireland. New policy

identify opportunities for new Public open space is one of the key guidance will seek to remedy this

housing to bring with it some elements of good housing layout. shortfall, but the introduction of new

environmental benefits. These will Well designed open spaces are the standards is only the first step towards

certainly include incentives for easiest way to create variety and a significant improvement in the

people to walk and cycle or catch a contrasts, and they provide a visual setting of our new homes. Designers

bus rather than using their car. It structure for the layout. With proper and developers will need to respond

may encourage greater energy maintenance arrangements, they can with a more positive attitude to the

efficiency in house design, also be a valuable resource for environmmental and commercial

orientation for solar gain or more passive recreation and children’s benefits of better open space.

7


Landscaping

Existing trees are vulnerable in private land. Mature trees were felled at a site in Dunadry (above). Better to incorporate them into public space, as in the example at Fort Green, Antrim (below).

We provide the highest quality planting to attract industrialists (Antrim Business Park above). Should we not expect the same quality in our home environment?

There will be a general presumption

that existing trees and hedgerows,

and other natural features, will be

incorporated into the layout concept

as part of the strategic open space

and planting that forms the structure

of the design. Wherever possible,

these features should be in public

ownership and related to footpaths,

cycleways and open space areas.

Incorporating mature planting into

public areas is the most effective

way of counteracting the inevitable

bareness of the early years of a

housing development. When mature

trees and hedgerows are left in

private hands it is too easy for them

to be cut down and destroyed to

make way for inappropriate

non-native species.

New planting schemes should be

used to reinforce existing vegetation.

By selecting native plants, the

landscaping in housing areas can

create a much richer and more

diverse habitat than exists on

farmed land, encouraging a healthier

wildlife community.

Designing open space as an integral

part of every housing scheme

contributes to creating a sustainable,

attractive and varied environment. It

has both recreational and social

value, and helps to establish a sense

of identity. Too often planting is only

a token gesture, scattering a few

trees in front gardens or adding

banks of ornamental planting to the

site entrance. This is superficial with

little thought given to how planting

can reinforce the spatial structure of

the layout or how it will be used and

how it will be cared for. The Quality

Initiative approach to housing design

means that developers and designers

will need to use open space, hard

landscaping and planting ideas to

shape their development concept.

8


as house types on corner plots that

need to have windows that overlook

side gardens.

Public areas should be maintained by

a local authority or an alternative

reliable management company.

Councils can play a significant role in

encouraging better design by taking

a positive view of the environmental

benefits of open space. Developers

will be expected to make suitable

effective management arrangements

for all schemes. In some cases these

will involve regular charges to house

owners. These issues should be

resolved before planning applications

are approved.

Well-designed planting and hard landscaping forms a structure which individual gardeners can develop with their own ideas. In our climate, the right plants can quickly give new housing a sense of mature quality.

Developers, planners, designers and

roads engineers are broadly pursuing

the same goal, so why is it so

difficult to achieve good design? In

the past there have been three

main obstacles:

• the developers’ reliance on a

limited range of house types laid

out in repetitive rows;

• road layouts that are considered

separately from the rest of the

design process and governed by a

rigid interpretation of road

standards; and

• a planning appraisal process that

relies on dimensional planning

standards without a clear overall

design concept.

New layouts will be expected to

make greater use of planting,

especially in public areas, to create a

network of visually and physically

connected spaces of varying scale,

enclosure and detailed character.

Planting schemes, boundary

treatment and hard landscaping in

larger housing developments can all

be used to reinforce a sense of place

by ‘theming’ particular streets or

focal points within the layout.

Of course, landscaping needs to be

maintained. Layouts need to ensure

that there are no awkward and

useless spaces that will be

neglected. This affects details such

9


This development in East Kilbride, Scotland, by volume builder Redrow, uses house types adapted to reflect local traditions and a layout based on the linear greens of nearby villages.

Developers are understandably

preoccupied with investment viability,

minimising financial risks and

maximising potential sales. Despite

the popular belief that development

is an easy way to make big profits,

reality suggests that it is also easy to

lose money. Financial issues

therefore dominate the brief to the

designer. Planning and roads

concerns are seen as technical

requirements that must be met

within the financial parameters.

House types are often seen as an

important design issue. Most

developers rely on a range of

standard designs which provide cost

effective living spaces and comply

with the required construction

standards. Changes to a developer’s

range are usually evolutionary rather

than radical. For example, a new

house type may be introduced or the

elevations revised to create a new

image but there is little change in the

house shapes that form the layout.

Economies of scale and the work

force’s familiarity with the product

are factors in this standardisation but

the most significant reason for using

standard house types is their role in

helping to control the cost of

development. Developers have no

effective alternative means of

monitoring actual spending against

their budget for the project. It is

possible to encourage greater variety

of treatment within standard ranges

but it is unrealistic to expect bespoke

designs for each site. The standard

types are designed to meet the

purchasers’ space requirements

within a building footprint which

minimises construction costs and

land take. They also maximise the

development value and therefore

the land value, an essential aspect

of layout design in a competitive

land market.

10


Reflecting local identity will often be

easiest to achieve in the forms of the

spaces, the boundary treatments and

the choice of materials for a new

development. Housing in Northern

Ireland is generally more spacious

than in England where narrow

fronted houses with integral garages

make it difficult to recreate the

shapes of traditional building forms

which have short spans and steep

roof pitches. Developers in Northern

Ireland are beginning to show that

they can create new house types

that reflect traditional character,

without resorting to pastiche.

Developers confirm that most buyers

prefer to be in a development of

similar properties occupied by people

similar to themselves. The majority of

sites are assessed as suitable for a

sector of the market rather than a

wide mix. This approach is mainly a

response to the location. Market

appeal is dominated by location and

price, with other factors having little

influence on the decision to buy. The

target market will constrain the mix

of house types and styles in the brief

to the designer and this poses

particular problems in seeking to

re-create the complexity and variety

of the traditional street scene or in

promoting mixed use developments.

Market-led designs tend to

encourage uniformity and many are

dominated by four bedroomed

House typesHouse types can respond to local identity. To the left, house types on the Redrow scheme in East Kilbride. Below, a new design in Omagh by Andrew Coulter.

detached and three bedroomed

semi-detached houses.

On some urban redevelopment sites,

developers have replaced their

suburban house types with higher

density schemes that follow the

principles of good urban design

which have found a ready market.

There may be opportunities to

introduce some of these higher

density elements into suburban

schemes in order to create focal

points. Over simple or prescriptive

planning requirements that define

site capacity only in terms of

dwelling numbers will prevent

developers from exploring these

design opportunities.

11


Dominant road layouts and repetitive house types, no matter how well they are built, will not provide house buyers with a choice of attractive homes in well landscaped settings, such as the example above from Hertfordshire.

Typical standard house type ranges

do not provide enough design

flexibility to meet urban design

objectives. With its emphasis on

creating places and spaces, good

urban design needs house types that

turn corners and define or enclose

spaces, and it needs the opportunity

to link buildings into terraces that

define a street form or a focal point

within the development. These are

basic elements that enable the

designer to provide contrasts and

interest within the layout. It is

possible to produce variants of

standard types that will assist good

design, without the developer

losing the benefits of established

house types.

Evidence from recent schemes in

England suggests a strong positive

response from house buyers when

they are offered developments with a

wide mix of plan forms and

elevational treatments, arranged

around varied streets, squares and

greens. Consumers in Northern

Ireland have not yet been offered

this choice.

The application and interpretation

of road standards has been, on

occasions, a difficult problem. It is

a major factor in the developers’

approach to layout because of the

importance of ensuring that the

roads are adopted as public

highways. Mortgage companies

will not release all of the purchase

money without adoption and

developers will suffer a financial

penalty.

Developers must meet the Roads

Service requirements, and up to

now the approach has been to simply

follow standard road types and

dimensions. Road standards were

always intended to offer flexible

guidance but practice has tended

towards rigid conformity.

12


preferred the comfort of layouts

which comply with published

standards, and the developers’ need

for a quick approval favoured

uncontroversial proposals which

followed the standards. Imaginative

road layouts must not be allowed to

result in delay or increased costs for

the developer.

Layouts up to now have been

dominated by a preoccupation with

the car rather than creating attractive

spaces and road form considered

before space. There is clearly a need

for housing areas to be safe places

for children, pedestrians and cyclists

but the application of a highways

engineering approach to layout

The same problem has been

encountered with highway standards

throughout Great Britain. Recent

advice on good practice in ‘Places,

Streets and Movement’ (by Alan

Baxter Associates for the DETR)

shows that some schemes have

achieved more sensitivity to site and

context and that standards have

been applied with flexibility in

individual developments. But these

result from the rare occasions when

both designer and roads engineer

have seen the benefit of a

co-operative approach.

In many cases throughout the UK

there has been no incentive for

imagination. Engineers have

Road Standards Examples of 20 mph roads in new estates in Holland. Reduced speeds allow designers to create much more intimate and attractive places.

design has posed a major obstacle

in the way of more imaginative and

sensitive solutions.

The responsibility for applying road

standards lies with the road

engineers. Much of their training

relates to engineering principles

based on ensuring the safe,

free-flowing movement of traffic.

These principles are largely

mathematical and lead to absolute

answers, rather than encouraging

engineers to explore the potential of

their judgement and creativity.

13


Effective traffic calming is an integral part of designing interesting and varied spaces within a layout. If designers rely on one or two standard calming devices they will emphasise the uniformity of suburban spaces.

Assessing the urban design qualities

of a layout has not previously been

the role of the engineer and often the

roads adoption process has been

based on technical and dimensional

requirements without a design

quality appraisal.

The quality objective is to make

housing layout design a process in

which road design is an integral part

but not the over-riding consideration.

To this end, the Department will no

longer consider preliminary road

layouts separately from other

aspects of housing proposals.

Roads and planning professionals

will jointly examine schemes and

support each other in pursuing the

aims of the Quality Initiative. Through

this joint approach they can exercise

sound judgement, satisfying

reasonable tests of safety but also

considering innovative design

features, including non-standard

ideas that are central to the design

concept and contribute to the quality

of the scheme.

The planning system has evolved

some basic ‘rules’ that are used to

assess proposed layouts. These

planning standards generally relate

to space around the dwelling, such

as garden sizes and privacy

distances. New standards in Northern

Ireland will establish requirements

for the provision of play spaces and

other forms of open space within

private housing schemes, although

these have been commonplace in

Great Britain and the Republic of

Ireland for many years.

14


Planning Standardsmay have moderated the worst designs, but have not encouraged others to match the high quality of The Steadings at Drumbeg.

Planning standards are usually

expressed as minimum requirements

and most of them concentrate on

suburban estate developments.

There is always a risk that they will

become the basis of housing layouts.

Designers anticipate the application

of planning standards and design to

them. ‘Development controllers’ often

begin their assessment of proposals

with this technical process rather

than considering the merit of the

overall concept. Even standards

that are intended to be flexible

guidelines, allowing designers to

respond to the best solution for each

particular parcel of land, may

become unquestioned rules that

pre-determine the layout, especially

when combined with the constraints

of dimensional road standards. All

developers face competitive pressure

to maximise development values.

When preparing schemes to assess

project viability and land values, no

developer or designer can exceed

minimum space standards without

giving a commercial advantage to

competitors. Any attempt to drop

below minimum standards incurs a

risk of delay or refusal, even if the

variation is seeking valid design

objectives such as higher urban

density or reflecting traditional rural

character. The developers’ need for

speed and certainty leads to

designs that are based on safe

standard solutions.

Planning standards are vigorously

defended when the planning system

is focused on stopping schemes that

are of such a poor standard they

should be refused. They are less

relevant when the emphasis of the

system is to approve only those

proposals that provide quality and

sustainable housing environments

of which we can all be proud.

Although planning standards

might reasonably claim to have

prevented the worst excesses of

development, they have failed to

stimulate good design.

15


The designers of these apartments at Eglinton achieved appropriate scale and detailing to form a robust edge to the street scene. The simple proportions of the brick houses at Fortwilliam, Belfast (below), also respond to their setting.

They encourage the planning process layouts which meet the minimum Dimensional standards, however

to judge schemes in a mechanistic requirements but which lack we choose to set them, provide a

two dimensional way, rather than the design concepts, and fail to achieve bottom line below which a design

more difficult task of visualising the complexity and diversity of is unacceptable.

urban design qualities. design solutions that are needed to

respond to local character and site Improving the quality of housing

There is comfort and certainty in specific conditions. development requires that we

relying on minimum dimensions. should devise a way of setting a

For planners, engineers and It is unlikely that changes to bold and ambitious target, aiming

politicians, just as much as dimensional standards would for a high level of achievement.

developers and their designers, they improve the quality of layout design. Even if designers are only partially

offer speed, simplicity and absolution Different standards would result in successful, the overall quality of

from responsibility. But these different standard solutions but the the housing layout will have

standards remove the incentive for fundamental problem remains that it climbed above the base level set

creativity and imagination. They is not possible to quantify and by conventional standards.

result in uniformity, which is the measure design quality against such

planners’ main criticism of new standard rules. Standards can not

housing layouts. They encourage stimulate or promote good design.

16


Much effort has gone into building high quality well-designed houses and spaces in this scheme at Bushmills, but it misses opportunities to give residents views over the River Bush and the open fields beyond. Design concepts should always try to make the most of every advantage that a site offers.

It is through the introduction of a precedent for a similar approach

concept statements that developers elsewhere. The variables of site

will be able to demonstrate depth of conditions and design concept will

design thought and show how their always demand individual solutions.

proposals will meet quality

objectives, and thus enable them

to justify proposed variations on

normal standards.

Variations must always relate to the

overall design concept. That in turn

stems from the nature of the land, its

natural features and existing planting

and the characteristics of the

surrounding area. Therefore the

exercise of judgement and flexibility

in one scheme can never be taken as

Planning standards have been useful

in helping to define the lowest level

of acceptability, but we need to

allow much greater freedom to

vary standards for such things as

garden sizes and privacy distances,

in the interests of creating more

complex, varied and attractive

spaces. With that freedom must

come responsibility. Developers must

demonstrate that they can use this

opportunity to create more attractive

places to live, resisting the

temptation to over-develop their

land in order to increase values.

High quality designs will encourage

a more flexible planning approach.

17


Land valuesThe Housing Executive has led the way in demonstrating how new housing can respect the character of traditional rural settlements. Simple, cost effective designs and strategic planting achieves qualities that are lacking in some layouts.

Land owners’ expectations of value

are normally based on recent

transactions in the locality. They may

be adjusted to take account of any

known physical constraints, but they

are likely to assume that the

character and density of future

development will be similar to past

developments. Value expectations are

usually established before quality

objectives have been discussed with

the Planning Service and therefore

may fail to allow for the costs of

delivering higher quality layouts. Yet

it is land value that must resource

better quality, not the developer’s

profits or the home buyer’s pocket.

When land is sold by competitive

tender, the process demands that

developers maximise the value of the

houses and minimise costs in order

to be able to bid the highest possible

residual land value. By this process

the landowner gains the maximum

benefit from the planning system but

achieves it at the expense of design

quality. Not all developers consider

quality before buying land. Some

choose to ignore quality objectives

and then argue that the high land

price does not allow for good design.

The planning system will have no

sympathy with this line of argument.

The Planning Service is promoting

widespread awareness of the

elements of good housing design, and

the general introduction of concept

statements will enable all developers to

make proper provision for meeting the

requirements of the Quality Initiative.

Negotiations about the purchase

price of development land allow for

abnormal costs to be discounted from

the notional land value. ‘Abnormals’

usually cover the cost of infrastructure

provision or the requirements of a

planning agreement. In the past

much of the design happened after

the land value was fixed.

18


Low cost housing at Braithwaite, near Keswick, shows how new development can follow tradition without resorting to pastiche. Careful use of natural and recycled materials helps the scheme to fit into its Lakeland surroundings.

Any aspect of quality with cost

implications introduced at that stage

would have to be funded from the

developers’ profits. Many people

think that developers make easy

money, but the profit margin on a

house is often less than 10 percent.

By contrast, granting outline planning

permission will commonly increase

the value of landowner’s asset by

more than 10,000 percent. Outline

planning permission may establish

land value expectations that are too

high and too rigid, and do not allow

sufficient scope to achieve quality

and design objectives which emerge

between outline permission and the

reserved matters application. The

introduction of a ‘concept statement’

provides a simple mechanism for

defining quality objectives before the

land value is established. Concept

statements can ensure that any cost

implications are understood and

accepted by landowners.

Land zoning merely confirms that a

site is suitable for housing. It is often

thought of as a ‘blanket’ land use

approval, in other words the land

satisfies technical requirements and

any housing development will be

acceptable in principle. The Quality

Initiative should have tempered that

perception. As the Minister said in

the speech that introduced the

Quality Initiative “the scheme is as

important as the site”. Good design

will not make housing acceptable on

land that is fundamentally unsuitable,

but equally, housing on zoned land

will be acceptable only if it meets the

objectives of the Quality Initiative.

Delays in the planning process add

costs for both developers and the

Planning Service. Many of these

delays can be avoided if detailed

layout applications comply with a

concept statement that has been

agreed by the Planning Service.

19


The Design ProcessImaginative private housing at Strangford and Portaferry uses a mixture of house types and apartments to create an attractive new edge to the waterfront.

There are no mechanisms established

as yet for developers, planners and

road engineers to work together on

brief production. Nevertheless, the

ingredients of good design need to be

agreed between all participants. The

detail and complexity of the brief will

vary with the size and context of the

site, but the underlying approach

should be consistent. Briefs and

master-plans are only appropriate or

necessary for larger developments (the

definition of ‘larger’ depends on the

particular local context). Where large

sites are to be subdivided between

developers there is particular need for

an agreed overall design.

In the past, land allocation has rarely

specified the appropriate quality of

the development, and planning

policies have lacked the site specific

clarity needed to impact on land

value calculations.

Master-plans, design or development

briefs, stronger design policies in

plans, and design guides can all help

to address the land value problem by

establishing early design parameters

for identified housing land and

potential development sites.

Ideally, people who are selling

development land should provide

sales details that take account of

quality objectives. It is acknowledged

that good development briefs are

the most comprehensive way of

establishing design objectives before

land values are fixed. To help achieve

quality objectives, briefs should

emphasise creative opportunities

and options and seek to liberate

imaginative design skills.

Landowners, or developers who have

an interest in the land, may choose

to fund the process and appoint

suitable designers to prepare a brief.

The Planning and Roads Services will

offer advice and participate in their

preparation where possible.

20


Site AppraisalFor most sites, a ‘concept statement’

will be the starting point of the

design process, setting out quality

objectives for the development. It can

establish a more cooperative

approach to design, more effective

dialogue at the beginning of the

design process, and ensure that all

design considerations are included in

the developer’s site evaluation.

The preparation of concept

statements depend on designers

capable of visualising spaces in three

dimensions and who can combine

good conceptual skills with a

practical understanding of housing

layouts. This early stage of the

design process should also draw on

landscape skills to make the best

use of existing planting and to

contribute ideas to the overall spatial

form. Developers will need to appoint

skilful designers who can work with

planners and roads engineers

towards shared solutions. The

mutual understanding gained by this

cooperation will result in proposals

that can be processed and approved

more quickly.

A typical concept statement will be a

diagrammatic illustration of the

potential to make the most of a site

and its surroundings. It is therefore

essential that the process begins

with a proper site appraisal, not with

an emphasis on the collection of

technical data. Rather it should

contain an analysis of the

opportunities to bring special

elements of quality into the design,

to use views, slopes and planting, to

build on local identity or to respond

to the surrounding context.

The concept statement should be

concise, limited perhaps to one side

of an A3 sheet with diagrams and

bullet points. It should be

imaginative, positive, ambitious and

practical, to open up design

opportunities. A concept statement

should definitely not be a list of

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° RETAIN EXISTING HEDGES AND TREES WITH SUITABLE THINNING AND ADDITIONAL PLANTING

° INDIVIDUAL LANDMARK BUILDING SIGNS ENTRANCE, THREE OR FOUR STOREY, MAIN WINDOWS OVERLOOK LOUGH

° ACCESS AVENUE DIVERTS THROUGH SQUARE AT FOOTPATH CROSSING - LANDMARK BUILDING CLOSES VIEW, SYMMETRICAL ELEVATION ON AXIS OF AVENUE

° AREAS A AND B HAVE SINGLE STOREY OR SPLIT LEVEL HOUSES SET INTO LANDFORM, SLATE ROOFS & WHITE RENDER - LOW KEY ACCESS LANES RELATED TO CONTOURS -NO FRONT BOUNDARY FENCE DIVISIONS

° CENTRAL FOCUS ROUND GREEN WITH ‘FEATURE’ PUBLIC ART OR PLANTING - SPACE DEFINED WITH TERRACED COTTAGES AND ‘GATE LODGES’ - AVOID DOMINANT PARKING AND GARAGE DOORS - ‘THEME’ DETAILS

° HOUSES FRONTING STEEPLE ROAD SET BACK IN LANDSCAPED GARDENS WITHOUT FENCED DIVISIONS

B

A

Concept Statement dimensional standards. Any designer will find new opportunities discussing how their sketch

references to planning policies to add to the quality of the layout. In proposals have developed from the

should show how good design other instances, constraints will be concept, before drawing up a final

principles and quality objectives discovered which mean that the scheme. Quality cannot be achieved

should be interpreted for the specific original concept must be adapted to by preparing a detailed scheme and

site. The concept statement suggests take account of them. The system then trying to draw up a concept

the overall form of the housing layout must be flexible enough to statement to justify it.

and proposes elements that will accommodate reasonable changes

provide a clear spatial structure but robust enough to prevent other Developers will be able to show how

leading to strong identity and development pressures from eroding they have responded to the concept

legibility in the new housing. the quality. in a written statement supporting

The concept statement is not the their planning application. Schemes

design solution. It is up to the The design process follows a logical that meet the Quality Initiative

designer to interpret and refine the sequence, from the site appraisal to objectives should then proceed

concept, within the spirit of the the concept and then into the sketch quickly to a planning permission.

overall quality objectives. design. It will be important for

Sometimes, in the process of designers to maintain dialogue with

preparing a detailed scheme, the the Planning and Roads Services by

22


To provide the best quality housing

environment, it is necessary to

understand each other’s roles and

responsibilities. Housing layouts

must balance everyone’s objectives

and cannot succeed through a

biased partial response. In the past,

we have not communicated

effectively, shared our experiences

or tried to accommodate each other’s

needs. Good design comes from

achieving a balanced response to

all of the factors influencing a

housing scheme, but we have

looked at development only from

our own perspective.

Developers, planners and engineers

have up until now focused on their

own concerns and have been

satisfied with schemes that meet

their own ends, without going

beyond that to seek a shared

solution. Developers have

concentrated on the value of the land

and the commercial viability of their

investment. The importance of this

aspect of development cannot be

ignored. It is largely through the

significant investment risks of

development companies that plans

are realised. However commercial

considerations, that should run in

parallel with quality and sustainability

objectives, have been allowed to

dominate the developers’ thinking,

often to the exclusion of other

matters. The developer’s site

Sketch Plan

appraisal has been used to fix the

market sector but rarely to shape

the development itself. Developers

must now take a broader view of

their activities and of potential

demand for more variety in the new

house products that are offered to

their customers.

Planners and urban designers have

looked at the role of the development

in its context. They consider how it

can be integrated with the wider built

environment and with footpaths,

cycleways and the public transport

network. They identify the

appropriate response to local

distinctiveness and character, often

drawing on traditional building forms,

23


materials, colours and textures to

guide new development. Sometimes

an ideal response which sustains the

local sense of place will need to be

adapted to suit modern living, for

example, in providing for the car or

using readily available materials.

Planners are more likely to value site

characteristics, seeking to retain

existing features and planting, which

so often seem to be in the most

awkward position from the

developer’s viewpoint. However,

planners need to understand enough

about development finance to

ensure that their ideas are

commercially realistic.

Road engineers have in the past

approached development thinking of

road safety and road maintenance

liabilities. This is understandable as it

is the road engineer who has the

experience of statutory liabilities,

residents’ complaints and the

growing tendency to use litigation.

This could lead to a feeling of being

outside the creative process. Yet

imaginative road design has a key

role in creating the quality of housing

that we seek. It is important for road

engineers and planners to review

layouts together as a team and the

Departments have now introduced

this as standard procedure. This is

Even in new housing it is possible to recreate the diverse and interesting spaces of a traditional housing environment. (Illustrative design by Arcus).

one example of the new approach to

delivering quality.

Over the last twenty years we have

gained much knowledge of how to

introduce effective traffic calming

into housing road layouts. Slow

traffic is safer traffic. Within housing

areas, road design that restricts

drivers to speeds of 20 mph or less

should be a primary consideration.

We now understand that traffic

calming does not need to rely on

unsightly physical devices that are

visually dominant.

24


Traditional images for family houses in Eglinton and Edenderry, or a modern interpretation of tradition in housing for older people in Newcastle. Either design approach can meet Quality Initiative objectives.

Safety will always be the first

consideration, but giving undue

weight to measures to facilitate

vehicle movement can encourage

faster driving and may therefore be

incompatible with the objective of

creating a safe environment for

pedestrians and cyclists.

The introduction of ‘Creating Places’

with revised standards for residential

roads offers an opportunity for

planners and road engineers to

exercise greater flexibility and

professonal judgement in supporting

high quality housing layouts. That

judgement will be based on an

overall view of the layout, the design

concept and its execution in detail,

and its response to the particular

circumstances of each individual

site. No two pieces of land are

identical and therefore an acceptable

innovation on one layout may not

necessarily be appropriate in

another. Developers cannot pick and

choose ideas at random, but

planners and roads engineers will

rely on developers and their

designers to use the new flexibility to

push forward the boundaries of good

design and grasp this opportunity to

create more attractive, imaginative

and safe housing environments.

25


The report was prepared by

Ian Davison of The Planning

Cooperative Ltd with the assistance

of Alan Patterson of Alan Patterson

Design, Iain Stewart of Arcus and

Peter Westbury of Mouncey Westbury.

All photographs are copyright of

the DOE except

p2 Countryside Properties

p8 and p9 Redrow (Scotland) Ltd

p24 Arcus

p12 (main), p13, p14 (bottom),

p19 Ian Davison

Drawing on cover is copyright of

Site Express

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Notes

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